Who has installed HydroTurf (or another mat) on a ski with rivets?

[Fish1]

I ordered a couple Hydro Turf mats from PWC Muscle for my 99 GSX Limited and my 96 GTX. I ordered both with the self adhesive backing to help with installation, but I'm still not sure what to do about the rivets.

This is how I assume I should do it, but can't find any good tutorials on line with skis with rivets:

1.) Remove old mat
2.) Cut off rivets?
3.) Clean the area very well. Would you use Acetone???
4.) Fill rivet holes with some king of sealant. Maybe a basic Silicone Rubber Sealant like this?
5.) Place the new mats where they go and push down to help make the seal.
6.) Ride and enjoy

Do I have this about right?
Would you use Acetone to clean the area before putting the new mats down?
Would you use Silicone over the rivet holes?

Any good tutorials out there for installing mats on a ski with rivets?


Thanks!!!!

 

[Dacapster]

drill rivits, punch out the rivits( the hull catches them but most end up stuck in the styrofoam) seal with epoxy or silicon or gelcoat. Clean with soap and water.acetone..I used blacktip with the peel off sticky....looks great and is stuck like glued down.

 

[Krispy]

I ordered a couple Hydro Turf mats from PWC Muscle for my 99 GSX Limited and my 96 GTX. I ordered both with the self adhesive backing to help with installation, but I'm still not sure what to do about the rivets.

This is how I assume I should do it, but can't find any good tutorials on line with skis with rivets:

1.) Remove old mat
2.) Cut off rivets?
3.) Clean the area very well. Would you use Acetone???
4.) Fill rivet holes with some king of sealant. Maybe a basic Silicone Rubber Sealant like this?
5.) Place the new mats where they go and push down to help make the seal.
6.) Ride and enjoy

Do I have this about right?
Would you use Acetone to clean the area before putting the new mats down?
Would you use Silicone over the rivet holes?

Any good tutorials out there for installing mats on a ski with rivets?


Thanks!!!!

I used a cold chisel to remove the rivets. It was quite simple and wouldn't use a drill. Just hold the chisel against the rivet and at a slight downward angle to the stock rubber mats.

After pulling off the stock mats some rivet bits remained. I used a small punch and hammer (a tiny Phillips screwdriver that you don't care about will work too) and punched them down into the hull, being caught in the Styrofoam as the previous poster mentioned.

After this I cleaned with de greaser, then acetone on a small rag just before the pad installation. After carefully lining up the piece I used a new paint roller (without paint) to press down evenly on the pad to wet out the adhesive.

My black-tip mats suggested waiting 12 hours after installation before the first ride.

If you run into any troubles let us know.

 

[ski-d00]

sharp chisel and you don't need to punch them into the hull. they will stay put and not even leak. I did a test where I removed the old footpads with a sharp chisel(took 5 minutes), filled up the footwells with water and they held water for more than a week. I even rode a few times thinking the vibration would loosen the left over rivets but it didn't. You can go over the top of them with a little epoxy or a sealant for extra security if it makes you feel better but not really necessary, imo. My RXP footwells still hold water after 4 years and I didn't put any sealant over the rivets.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

i have punched and drilled rivets , both way's work, punching seems a little faster.
i've always filled the rivet holes, but it helped that i have marine tex sitting around in the garage so it was no big deal.
I love marine tex, stuff is hard as diamonds.
IMO, do not use silicone, it won't stick to the adhesive, use something that will dry, harden, and accept the adhesive, and use very very little, just enough to cover the hole, the first time I did it, i slathered so much marine tex on i was worried that i'd feel the lumps, i got much better at it the 2nd time.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Fish1, you have the same 2 skis that I do. IDK about the colors though.

I just did my GSX with Blacktip mats.
I drilled out the rivets and used 3M marine epoxy (Lowes or Home Depot) to fill the holes. I found a lot of them after I cleaned the inside of hull again....sharp little buggers
I used mineral spirits to clean the hull.....less aggressive than acetone. this is done after sanding.
I sanded down any high spot of the epoxy and lightly sanded the whole outline of the mats for better adhesion.
I placed them down with the sticky backing still on to get an idea how to line them up, then lightly traced around them with a PENCIL.

Go here to see them posts 79-81. http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?56412-Just-bought-a-99-GSX-limited-need-some-answers/page2

Good luck & Post some pics after you are done

 

[Fish1]

Big help guys...THANKS!

Yes, Seadoobuddy we do have the same two skis Great pics in your thread, thanks for the link.

Since you just did your two, a few questions if you don't mind:
1.) I've heard the suggestion to drill out the rivets, but I'm not actually sure how to do that. Are you guys just taking a normal drill bit abou the size of the rivets and just drill directly on top of them (in a downward direction towards the hull)?

2.) How much 3M Marine Epoxy did you use on your GSX? How much do you think I will need to purchase to do both my ski's and a friend's 99 GSX ltd (3 total)?

3.) What grit sand paper did you use?

 

[ski-d00]

drilling out the rivets is a waste of time and creating more work and the possibility that it will leak easier. use a sharp chisel, just pry up the edge of the mat keeping the blade of the chisel flush with the surface of the gel coat and a simple tap with a small hammer and it will shear the rivet perfectly flush to the surface. each rivet seriously takes like 5 seconds to do, complete set takes 5 minutes. you can then put a drop of epoxy on the left over rivet but not necessary really. clean with a good cleaner, I like super clean and then alcohol. Apply mats by peeling back the backing while applying. A complete set of mats should take 20 minutes.

All this extra work like punching and drilling and then sanding is not necessary and a waste of time. I've done hundreds of mat kits like this including all my own. just my 2c.

 

[Krispy]

Big help guys...THANKS!

Yes, Seadoobuddy we do have the same two skis Great pics in your thread, thanks for the link.

Since you just did your two, a few questions if you don't mind:
1.) I've heard the suggestion to drill out the rivets, but I'm not actually sure how to do that. Are you guys just taking a normal drill bit abou the size of the rivets and just drill directly on top of them (in a downward direction towards the hull)?

2.) How much 3M Marine Epoxy did you use on your GSX? How much do you think I will need to purchase to do both my ski's and a friend's 99 GSX ltd (3 total)?

3.) What grit sand paper did you use?

I forgot to add in my post above, I sealed over the top of my rivets with a little "shoe goo" it is a semi removable adheadive that was easy to apply. It was a bit more trouble than it was worth in my opinion.

The most important part of this process is cleaning the gel coat before installation and carefully placing the pads where you want them.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Big help guys...THANKS!

Yes, Seadoobuddy we do have the same two skis Great pics in your thread, thanks for the link.

Since you just did your two, a few questions if you don't mind:
1.) I've heard the suggestion to drill out the rivets, but I'm not actually sure how to do that. Are you guys just taking a normal drill bit abou the size of the rivets and just drill directly on top of them (in a downward direction towards the hull)?

2.) How much 3M Marine Epoxy did you use on your GSX? How much do you think I will need to purchase to do both my ski's and a friend's 99 GSX ltd (3 total)?

3.) What grit sand paper did you use?

skidoo makes good points, i went the overkill route because it was basically my only project that particular afternoon...

assuming you go with the overkill route here's the answers to the above..

1 i just used a drill bit about the same side, put it on top of the rivet head or leftover rivet, hit the trigger and push down hard, you'll probably collect a bunch of rivet rings on the drill bit as you go. just keep going, ignore them. it annoyed me and thats why i used a punch the next time.

2you will use just a tiny bit of exoxy... buy a small container, you will have plenty left over.
when I used marine tex the last time, I used maybe a tablespoon's worth... perhaps slightly more than that. so just ball park the ratio's and use a little bit, don't mix up a whole batch.
my little can of marine tex, i've used on 2 mat kits and I still have enough for at least 3 more.

3)i did sand mine a little but I think it was like a 320 sanding pad/sponge, and it was just a little scuff up, and probably not even necessary. the adhesive will stick... trust me..

 

[Fish1]

Got them all on and everything looks good to go. These are not going anywhere.

Here's some pics of the process in case anyone else is interested.

Here's a pic of the "before". I didn't take a better one, but you can see in this pick that the mats were wavy and coming up in spots.



First step was to remove the old mats. I used a small chisel and a hammer to tap the chisel. This cut the rivets off. Mostly were cut flush to the hull. Here's a pic with the old mats removed. I started to clean before remembering to take a pic.



Next I needed to finishing cleaning the foot wells. They weren't in really bad shape so a little Acetone and a rag was all I needed. Here's a pic of the foot wells after I cleaned them.



I'm not sure if this next step was even necessary or not, but felt I should do it to be safe. I added some 3M Marine Adhesive to the rivet holes. I just dabbed a small amount on each rivet...might have even used more then needed.



After letting that 3M adhesive dry fo r24 hours, it was time to roll the new mats on. I set them with the backing still on to get them where I wanted them. I marked the corners with a pencil. Then removed small portions of the backing at a time and used a small roller to put pressure on the mat to stick it to the foot well.

Here's the final result.




Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Krispy]

Looking good!

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Looks good, nice job.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Oh how I love the 2 toned mats. All our personal seadoo's get 2 toned. Looks great